The present invention relates to a flooring system, and more specifically, to a heating device for a flooring system that generates radiant heat underneath a floor so that the floor is at a comfortable temperature for directly receiving a user's bare feet, along with other body parts directly contacting the floor.
There are two basic ways to supply heat to a floor: hot water or electricity. Hot-water or “hydronic” systems circulate water from a boiler or water heater through loops of tubing installed beneath a floor. The flexible tubes are installed in a variety of ways, such as on top of a subfloor in grooved panels or snap-in grids, or embedded in poured concrete. Once the heating system is in place, the heating system can be covered by finished flooring, including hardwood or tile. The issues with these systems are that they are complex, require significant time and effort to install and are expensive.
An electric system provides radiant heat from one or more heating elements connected to an electrical power source. Referring to FIG. 1, one type of electrical heating system is shown and includes thin resistors, namely, thin film resistors, positioned between and electrically connected to two bus bars acting as a positively charged terminal and a negatively charged terminal, the bus bars being located on opposing sides of a base substrate. Typically, the base substrate is made of a flexible material, such as a flexible plastic or fiberglass, so that the heating system can be rolled up and transported to a location for installation. After installation, electricity is supplied to the heating elements, which causes the heating elements to generate heat that is directed to the bottom surface of a finished floor installed above the heating system.
FIG. 2 shows an alternative known electrical heating system in which an electrical wire or cable is attached to a base substrate and winds between the opposing sides of the base substrate. The electrical wire is attached to a power source which supplies electricity to the wire to cause the wire to generate heat beneath a finished floor. Since the electrical heating systems shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 do not require a boiler, water, or tubing as with the hot water heating system, less space is needed underneath the finished floor to install the electrical heating systems.
FIG. 3 is an example of a conventional electrical heating system that includes a positively charged electrode or anode 52a attached to one side of a base substrate and a negatively charged electrode or cathode 52b attached to an opposing side of the base substrate. Typically, the positively charged electrode and the negatively charged electrode are bus bars attached to the opposing sides of the base substrate. The anode and the cathode are electrically connected to heating elements 50a, which are spaced apart at different locations on the base substrate, and supply electricity to the heating elements from an electrical power source (not shown). Alternatively, in other examples, a single heating element 50b extends between the anode 54a and the cathode 54b, or the heating elements 50c are formed as elongated strips that extend between the anode 56a and the cathode 56b. In these systems, the configuration and positioning of the heating elements depends on the layout of the floor and the size and shape of the room.
A problem with the above-described known electrical heating systems is that the base substrate typically must be cut to size to accommodate a corner or other obstacle in a room where the electrical heating systems are being installed. Given that the heating elements and associated electrical connections extend in only one direction between the opposing electrodes on the base substrate, the base substrate must likewise be cut in a single direction along a cutting line 58 (FIG. 3) that is parallel to the heating elements, otherwise the electrical circuit will be cut or severed thereby breaking the electrical connection between the positive and negative electrodes and preventing the heating elements from generating heat underneath the finished floor. As such, more time and materials are used to install such electrical heating systems, and more waste materials are generated.
Accordingly, there is a need for a heating system for placement underneath a floor that can be cut to size in any direction to accommodate different floor layouts.